


What Would I Do Without You?

by Bluhungryshrk



Series: WWE Fics [15]
Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Daniel And Mike Are Very Much In Love, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles, this is just very very soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-31 11:24:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17848526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluhungryshrk/pseuds/Bluhungryshrk
Summary: Just before he drifts off, all he can think about is how much he absolutely loves Mike.





	What Would I Do Without You?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RedLlamas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedLlamas/gifts).



> i wrote this at like 4 am, so sorry if its bad. also this is a gift to RedLlamas 'cause you called my fics precious and youre a good friend!! i hope you like! :)

Daniel was lost in an endless sea, writhing in an attempt to stay afloat. Leaving the WWE had been one of the hardest times of his life, everything he had worked for had been taken from him: ripped away by the unforgiving hand of life.

He had tried so hard, so damn hard, but all his attempts fell short, he had beaten goliaths, beasts among men, but he never could beat his own worst enemy: himself. 

When you’re injured, you carry on, a constantly revolving world would never stop and wait, if you slowed down, even in the slightest, you would be swallowed up, left behind. Daniel wouldn’t be left behind, he couldn’t. 

So he pushed on.

He ignored his problems even when they flooded him, even when they grew so big that it started to suffocate him: drown him so that every breath felt like agony. 

He carried on, pretending like everything was fine, believing if he ran a little faster, pushed a little harder, did a little better, then all his problems would just disappear, that he’d be able to leave them behind with all those who never made it.

Thinking that that thought, that belief, that eventually caught up to him.

He’d taken too many bumps, too many concussions, too many little hits that should never have happened, hits that wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t so arrogant: so vain.

 Daniel thought he was on top of the world like no-one could touch him; he was a god among men, untouchable. The people loved him, cheered his name like a mantra: like it was the last thing they knew, and Daniel would be lying if he said it hadn’t made him even more conceited. Daniel allowed himself to indulge in the praise of everyone around him. Just like Icarus had done, Daniel was flying too close to the sun, and he was bound to fall, but the euphoria that came with winning was just too great to ignore.

And then he found out he couldn’t wrestle anymore.

He was too damn idiotic, too proud to realise that his wings were melting: that he was falling too fast to catch himself. He hit the ground hard; the news had struck him violently, he couldn’t believe it; he couldn’t believe that the thing he loved was being taken away from him. It humbled him; it made him realise that people are too fragile.

He cried that night.

He cried for all the opportunities that he would miss, all the people he would never get to see. He cried for never being able to hold a championship belt in his hands ever again. He cried because wrestling was his passion: it was his dream, his life. And no he didn’t even have that. Daniel found himself wishing that he could go back and change the man he was, he had so many regrets. Daniel was on top of the food chain, the best of the best, and now... now he was nothing.

A person to be forgotten in the endless sea of people.

He wanted to be remembered, not just a passing saddened thought, and he wanted so badly to be the one who people cheered for. It was hard, but he pushed through it, his resilience was the one thing that kept him going.

Well, that and Mike.

If he didn’t have Mike, he didn’t know how he would have made it as far as he had. Mike was there for Daniel, he was there for him through thick and thin, and Daniel had never been more grateful for anyone in his life. Daniel had so many regrets: so many things that he wished he could change, and he hated that, he hated it so much. 

Daniel wasn’t going to make the same mistake with Mike.

Mike had been Daniel’s shoulder to cry on, he had been the person who held him when no-one else had. Mike had been the one person who believed in him. It had been a seemingly endless journey that they had; it took Daniel a long time to adjust and Mike hadn’t rushed him, he hadn’t pushed him, Mike had let Daniel go at his own pace and Daniel had never been so thankful for one person before.

Daniel found himself feeling things for Mike that he had never felt for anyone else, and he didn’t know what to do.

They were dating, Mike was his boyfriend, but Daniel still felt like something was missing.

Not being able to wrestle had taken a big piece of his heart out, a piece that Mike was slowly filling. Every day when Daniel would wake up and see Mike next to him, he would just look at him, really, really, _look_ at him. Daniel would take in every feature that Mike has, even though he’s already memorised them, from the way that his hair was messed up from sleep to the little bit of stubble that he is starting to grow, and Daniel swears that he’s somehow managed to influence Mike to start growing a beard, even though Mike would never agree to that. He took in the way that Mike curled his arm around Daniel’s waist, and how their legs were entangled. Mike’s eyes are closed, but Daniel knows that underneath his eyelids are a pair of eyes so blue that even the ocean is jealous, a pair of eyes that never fail to capture Daniel’s own.

It’s horribly domestic, and Daniel wonders what he must have done to deserve Mike in his life, but whatever it is, Daniel is glad that he did it.

Daniel brings up a hand but stops before it touches Mike’s face as if he’s scared of disrupting how ethereal Mike looks right now, the sunlight streaking through the blinds to create an empyrean glow to Mike’s face, and Daniel has never seen someone so beautiful. 

Daniel wishes that he could capture this moment forever. He finally moves his hand, ever so slowly, placing his hand on Mike’s cheek. Mike’s stubble feels prickly on his skin, and he can’t help but ghost his thumb over Mike’s bottom lip. Mike doesn’t stir, he’s always been a heavy sleeper, and Daniel’s hand moves up to Mike’s hair. He runs his fingers through Mike’s brown hair, not caring that he messes it up even further, and Mike’s hair has always been his favourite thing. Daniel just loves running his fingers through Mike’s soft brown locks, it has always been so calming for him: a welcoming reminder that Mike is always there, that’s he’s not leaving.

Mike always lets him as well, it’s one of the many things that Daniel loves about him: he loves how Mike is attuned to Daniel’s needs and wants, how Mike can just tell when Daniel needs him. Mike always lets Daniel run his finger through his hair, because he knows how calming Daniel finds it, and Mike has to admit that he loves it just as much as Daniel does.

Even though he loves running his hands through Mike’s hair, he could do that for hours, he loves Mike holding him even more. He loves the way that Mike’s strong arms completely envelop his body, and how Daniel can finally relax with Mike’s warmth surrounding him.  

Daniel shuffles closer to Mike, placing his head against Mike’s chest and he can hear the steady rhythmic beating of Mike’s heart, his hand never leaving its place in Mike’s hair. It’s awkward at first, but Daniel makes it work, wrapping his arms around Mike’s chest and running his fingers through the back of Mike’s hair.

As Mike’s arm curls further over Daniel’s waist, bringing the two closer together and Daniel can’t help but close his eyes, Mike’s warm, comforting, presence lulling Daniel into a deep sleep, and just before he drifts off, all he can think about is how much he absolutely loves Mike.


End file.
